A Tale of Her Spirit Animal

There is this folktore from my hometown (Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia) that our first regent named Bayapati was protected by troops of catfish as he hid in a pond from angry villagers who mistook him a thief. The troops of catfish calmly swam over his body so the villagers can't find him.

Actually, Bayapati was sent by Sunan Giri (one of nine saints who spreads Islam in Java) to get his precious creese that he accidentally left behind on a woman's house. The woman then accused him as a thief because he tried to get the creese back secretly from her.

After he successfully gave the creese back to Sunan Giri, he swore an oath that he and his descendant will never eat catfish.

But nowadays a lot of people from my hometown earn a living from selling catfish (Pecel Lele) as a dish all over the country (including my family) and we also can eat it too.

I usually post my work in progress on my instagram story @bizwud. Follow me there so I can get the swipe up feature :)).

What is your spirit animal?

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